Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X COTY Review: Sending Out the C8 in Grand Fashion

If history is any guide, the C8 era may soon be drawing to a close, as signaled by two new models now filling out the Corvette lineup: the rear-wheel-drive Grand Sport and the all-wheel-drive hybrid Grand Sport X, which improves on the concept pioneered by the discontinued E-Ray. Over the past two Corvette generations, the Grand Sport has debuted near the end of the model run. If this is how the C8 is going out, it’s doing so in grand style.

A large part of what makes the latest Grand Sport coupe and convertible so grand is the excellent new engine that powers them, dubbed LS6, a 6.7-liter small-block V-8 shared with the base Corvette Stingray that sends 535 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

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In the RWD Grand Sport model, that was enough power to post an extremely impressive 2.7-second 0–60 time—but the Grand Sport X, which inherits the electric axle tech used by its hybrid forebear, ups the ante with an added 186 hp that helped push it across the 60-mph mark in a supercar-like time of 2.4 seconds.

To be sure, the Grand Sport X has more power and more impressive tech, but the V-8-only RWD Grand Sport might be our pick for regular track days. “There is less power for sure,” senior features editor Kristen Lee said, “but it feels more usable, and there is noticeably less weight in the nose, which makes the steering and front-end handling feel a lot livelier, more active, more engaging.”

Of course, our RWD test subject was just about maxed out with options, including carbon-fiber wheels ($15,500) and the Track Performance package, which bundles speedy kit like Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, quad exhaust, and carbon-ceramic brakes for just under $21,000. Add it all up, and it rang in just above the Grand Sport X’s $146,470 as-tested price. But most of our judges agreed that the base Grand Sport punched well above its weight as a driver’s car.

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Still, the clever reapplication (or rebranding, depending on your point of view) of former Corvette E-Ray parts yields something superlative in the Grand Sport X. It’s heavier, sure, but that extra weight works for the car, helping lend a sense of on-road composure that becomes apparent when you A-B it against the non-hybrid Grand Sport. There might be less dynamic excitement in the X chassis, but it’s the one we’d want to drive every day, on and off track.

It’s that well-roundedness that made the X our chosen Grand Sport exemplar and the car we brought along for the finalist loops of our Of The Year evaluation. The X “is configured extremely well for usability,” associate editor Billy Rehbock said. “It has all the stuff you want, like the ventilated seats and the screens and the charging pads, but it also has a ton of performance. It’s one of the best all-around cars at the competition.” Did the Grand Sports have enough new C8 stuff to take home the Golden Calipers? Stay tuned.